


Around the Year

by C-chan (1001paperboxes)



Category: Kamen Rider Den-O
Genre: Gen, Holidays
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-15
Updated: 2018-12-15
Packaged: 2019-09-19 14:09:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,872
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17003121
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/1001paperboxes/pseuds/C-chan
Summary: Holidays on the DenLiner, ZeroLiner, in the Milk Dipper, and with the crew to be found in them all.





	Around the Year

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Knitchick1979](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Knitchick1979/gifts).



#### January

A new year was a time for new beginnings.

That's why he and Airi had spent so much time cleaning up the building, from their personal quarters to the café. Everything had to be clean and clear and ready to see the new year in, Airi had said. Even the coffee-tachi seemed to sing better when everything was fresh and new.

Every year, Ryoutarou prayed for a new start of his own. Maybe this year he'd manage to be not so unlucky. Maybe this year things would go well.

His fortune for this year, "half blessing" was the highest he'd ever received, so maybe there was hope. Though what the other half would entail was anyone's guess.

Still, that sense of good fortune was enough to drive him forward as the month progressed. Even as he somehow rode his bike into a tree. Even as local thugs came after him for what seemed like the millionth time.

Half-blessing meant there was good coming, and any moment could bring a new and happier opportunity.

Maybe that's why it was so easy to board that mysterious train, and see what adventures it would take him on.

Maybe that's why it was easy to bond with the Imagin.

Maybe it was that sense of newness that allowed Ryoutarou to take on the mantle of Den-O, and claim a new destiny.

Half-blessing, his fortune had read. Surrounded by new friends, and heading off on new adventures, Ryoutarou could only hope that he could change others' lives for the better as well.

* * *

#### February

Every Valentine's Day that Ryoutarou could remember had gone the same way.

Airi would spend the twelfth and thirteenth making a mountain of chocolate confections. In theory, they were all obligation chocolates, but she still put time and effort into each one. After all, they were for her customers, or classmates when they were younger, and it was important to have a least a little love in every creation.

The fourteenth itself was all hands on deck at the Milk Dipper as hordes of men came to prove themselves the object of Airi's affection. Ryoutarou's main job was to keep everything organized--see that everyone stayed in line, see that each tray was brought out as the last one was emptying, and try not to drop too many plates or instigate too many fights in the process. (There was always _something_ that went wrong, but that was just his luck. They'd both long since learned to work through it.)

Meanwhile, Airi would serve each man his own obligation chocolate, whether it was a cake, a pastry, or another chocolate confection she'd made for the day. Many would buy coffee to go along with it, just for the chance to have a moment or two to talk with her as she prepared the beverage. And then, at closing time, Airi would give Ryoutarou a special treat--something a little different than anything she'd given out. Really, it was one of their biggest days of the year, even with all the free product given away.

This year was something else, however. Along with the lines of men were scores of women, each trying to give something to him!

This had never happened before.

 _Aaaaah? What's going on?_ he asked internally. 

_Beats me,_ Momotaros said, annoyance clear in his tone. _Lemme know if you want me to beat them all down._

_No--no, it's fine, it's fine, just… who are they? Why do they all--_

_They're our paramours, of course._

He could almost see the look of confused shock on Momotaros' face. _The hell, turtle?_

_These are just some of the girls we've been on dates with. I suppose we made a bigger impact than I thought. Good thing I told them where to find me, to shower their affection._

Ah. So _that's_ what Urataros had been up to. Really, he shouldn't have been surprised.

_Ah there's Minami-chan now. Perhaps you should let me take over for a while, it would be a shame not to tell her how cute she looks in that dress. And Chihiro-chan too, of course.... And how could I forget Mai and Mei….._

_Like hell you should!_

But it was too late, Urataros had already wrested control away, and was greeting the gaggle of girls and collecting the mountain of gifts they'd assembled in his honour, and hardly paying attention to the yelling going on inside his head.

"My my," Airi said, watching all this unfold from the relative safety of the counter. "It seems Valentine's Day may be even more exciting from now on."

* * *

#### March

"I think you're forgetting something," Urataros said, his voice calm as he slid into the seat across from Ryoutarou, mug of Naomi's latest blue concoction in hand.

"Eh?" Ryoutarou asked, already checking all over his body in case he could figure out what on earth was so obvious that he'd not noticed this time.

"You're fine, you're fine," Urataros reassured him. "It's just that all those sweet and lovely girls gave us gifts for Valentine's Day, and it would be rather boorish of us not to return the favour, now, wouldn't it?"

Oh. _Oh._

The mountain of chocolates had found a home on the Den-Liner at least, and the entire crew had been eating their fill over the past month. The empty box pile was a little bigger than the New Chocolate pile by now, but both were impressive to view.

"What should we do?" Ryoutarou asked. "I mean, I've never really gotten more than obligation chocolate before, unless Airi counts, and…"

"It's fine, it's fine." Urataros promised. "Just leave everything to me."

* * *

"Airi, I need to ask a huge favour."

Airi looked up from where she was concocting some sort of health beverage--a rather lumpy take on aojiro perhaps?--and met his eyes.

"Of course, Ryoutarou. What is it?"

Ryoutarou looked away, blushing, and took in a deep breath. "I need to take the fourteenth off."

* * *

Normally White Day was spent at the Milk Dipper, the same crowd from a month earlier returning to regale Airi with all sorts of gifts: clothes, jewelry, and confections of all sorts. Lattes were the normal drink of the day, and Ryoutarou was at least able to help purchase enough milk to get them through, but the rest would be up to Airi to manage this year.

Thankfully, she'd managed to call in some girl friends of hers, and she reassured him that things would be fine without his help. ("Especially after the attention you got last month, I'm not surprised," she said, "I look forward to hearing about the smiles on each of those girls' faces.")

All that said, Ryoutarou didn't remember much of what happened on March 14th. Urataros was in control for most of the day.

He dutifully took photos with each girl on his phone, however, passing out the mountain of white chocolate macadamia cookies that Naomi had baked with the Imagin's help over the course of a few days.

Maybe they were a little odd-shaped, but the girls seemed to love them, especially when Urataros swore that he made them all by himself while thinking of each girl.

It was a lie, and Ryoutarou knew it, but it seemed to make the girls happy. And maybe, in that moment, that was enough.

* * *

#### April

Things didn't quite look as they normally did as Ryoutarou entered the Den-Liner's dining car.

For one, there wasn't generally a TV set up in there. For another, the Imagin didn't generally get together for longer than five minutes at a time. However, for the moment, all four were sitting happily around the aforementioned television with Naomi, and all of them were singing along to the theme song being played onscreen. Ryuutaros in particular was jumping in place happily, both he and Naomi half-dancing along to the music.

_Rider Jump! Rider Kick! Kamen Rider!_

"What's going on?" Ryoutarou asked as he approached the assembled group.

It was Kintaros who turned away from the screen. "You said it was Showa day, so we thought we'd celebrate by watching some Showa Kamen Rider."

"Well, _some_ of us have been watching," Momotaros interjected. "The dumb bear's been asleep for half the episodes."

"And you'n Ura-nii keep squabbling over the episodes," Ryuutaros added.

"Well, that's because he keeps on getting everything wrong."

"I do not! You're clearly the one missing the vast levels of subtext in the show."

"The guy broke both his legs! What sort of subtext am I supposed to get from that?!"

The episode started in earnest, and Ryoutarou sighed. Maybe it wasn't quite the traditional way to approach Showa day, but at least things really weren't all that different, after all.

* * *

#### May

"Waaaaai! Waaaaaaai!!!!" Ryuutaros ran from one end of the train car to the other, a purple koinobori in tow. 

"Watch where you're going!" Naomi warned, "Otherwise, you might–"

"Ah!" Ryoutarou yelped, as Ryuutaros collided into him, sending his bag of chimaki and kashiwa-mochi flying.

"Idiot, that's why you're not supposed to run in here," Momotaros said, peeling a [thankfully still wrapped] lump of mochi off his face.

"Not my fault," Ryuutaros replied, getting up. "Koi-kun wanted to fly! Ryoutarou should've been paying more attention where he was going."

"Sorry," Ryoutarou offered, slowly getting to his feet.

Momotaros huffed. "Don't apologize! You can't see squat through the doors. This idiot should've been more careful!"

Ryoutarou started collecting his goods back up as Momo- and Ryuutaros started squabbling. There was no use fighting, and nothing was ruined, so things would be fine. Still–

"There are always numerous ways to see a problem through."

Ryoutarou turned to where Owner was sitting, a fresh dish of fried rice in front of him, as he carved out his first spoonful.

"The hell's that supposed to mean?" Momotaros asked, still holding Ryuutaros in a headlock.

"If flying is the option, perhaps a place with a higher velocity would be better."

There was a three second pause as everyone took in the information, and then, inspiration struck them all at once.

"The roof!"

* * *

By the time they picked up Hana, who had gone to procure a second round of treats, the fruits of their labour were complete.

Strung between two koinobori polls, a string of koinobori danced freely above the dining car's roof. A large black one represented Owner, and Naomi took one in pink. Ryoutarou's was silver, and followed immediately by slightly smaller koi in red, blue, yellow, and purple. Finally, a smaller black one flew, representing Hana's own place in their group.

Perhaps it was a little odd to see such decorations on a train, but then, when had the Den-Liner ever professed to be a normal train?

* * *

#### June

"Yuuto," Deneb asked, rubbing blearily at an eye. "It's so early. Why are you awake? Shouldn't you be sleeping still?"

Yuuto sighed as he looked out the window of the train.

"Around the world, the summer solstice is revered. In England, there's a famous set of rocks called Stonehenge, where people gather to see the sun rise in an ancient druidic temple. Across the world, other cultures that revere or once revered the sun hold similar festivals. The sun's touch, especially on the solstice, was integrated into the design of several great pieces of architecture, made to show especial beauty or certain characteristics based on the position of the sun on its longest day.

"Here in Japan, though, the summer solstice goes largely forgotten. We revere the winter solstice, and the fall and spring equinoxes are national holidays, but outside from a few local events, the longest day goes largely forgotten."

"Like you," Deneb supplied, sitting down by his side. "Yuuto, I…"

"I'm not going to forget it," Yuuto continued. "I'm going to celebrate the longest day, and drink in every moment of the sunlight's glory."

Deneb nodded and looked out at the sky, already mottled with pinks and oranges in the 4am twilight.

"It will be a beautiful sunrise," he said at last.

Yuuto grunted his agreement, and they sat and watched the sun rise together.

* * *

#### July

"Behold," Sieg said, marching upon the train with an air of princely dignity. "The greatest day is upon us once more."

"Tanbatta is pretty cool," Kohana agreed at his side.

Sieg looked at her in shock. "What is this Tanbatta you speak of? No matter. You must be joking. The greatest day of the year is upon us, for we have descended upon my glorious birthday at last!"

Ryoutarou sighed as he watched the two argue, hoping against hope that he wouldn't get dragged in. Somehow, they'd celebrate both that day, and it would be a wonderful, glorious, and unforgettable mess.

* * *

#### August

Obon was much more complicated with Imagin around.

One year, Kintaros ate all the food offerings. Another, Ryuutaros insisted on making his own paper lanterns and placing them all over the train, which lasted until Momotaros pushed Urataros into one, causing a small fire to erupt.

They all seemed to enjoy the dancing, however. In fact, when an Imagin attacked during the festival, they used their bon odori to get in synch enough to unlock climax form.

Even with all the excitement, however, there was something to be said about Obon's quiet moments.

The Imagin gave him time alone when he visited his parents' grave, honouring his wishes to visit his parents' grave without their interference. It was nice to be able to clean the grave, hang lanterns, burn incense, and pray in silence. It felt right; as though the silence brought a sort of meditative reverence to the visit.

They left him alone again when he set the lanterns on the river, lighting the way for the spirits to go back home.

Soon, he'd be back aboard the train, going on a new adventure. But in the meantime, it was nice to spend a bit of time with his family.

* * *

#### September

They must have seemed like an odd trio together: a woman in her mid-twenties, a man just pushing into adulthood, and a girl seemingly a decade younger than either of them.

It may have seemed odd that the Milk Dipper was closed, when the autumnal equinox wasn't a major holiday.

And it might have seem odd that they didn't have much to say as they sat together in the empty café, when normally Yuuto would be explaining something about the skies, or Airi about her coffee, or Kohana about the mysteries of time and space.

But the autumnal equinox was a time to visit graves and visit lost loved ones. And, in their case, where there were no graves, visiting the living versions that remained was the next best thing.

* * *

#### October

"For the last time, I'm not being Momotaros!"

Naomi looked at the costume she was holding, at the red Imagin she was brandishing it at, and then pouted.

"Aww, but Ryuutaros is going to be a dragon."

"The brat _always_ wants to be a dragon."

"And Urataros agreed to be a turtle."

"He's already a dumb turtle!"

"And Kintaros liked the gold samurai bear idea…."

Momotaros cocked his head at that one.

"Gold samurai bear? Why does he get a cool thing and I get stuck with—"

Naomi just grinned and pushed the outfit into Momotaro's hands.

"Come on. It'll be fun."

Momotaros considered the outfit and sighed, shoulders slumping. This was going to be a disaster of a halloween. He could tell already.

* * *

#### November

"Yuuto! I bought us Pocky to enjoy together!"

The man in question took one look at Deneb and the boxes of Pocky lining his goodie basket, and walked right back off the ZeroLiner.

"Wait! No! Come back! Yuutoooooo!!!!"

* * *

#### December

"Santa came! Santa came!"

Ryuutaros ran up and down the train, waking everyone up with his yelling and demanding they all join him around the Christmas tree.

It wasn't a large tree. In fact, it fit neatly atop one of the dining car tables. And the decorations were mainly cut-out stars and paper chains. Still, it made for a good focal point for their Christmas celebrations, and it looked especially nice with everyone's presents piled around it.

Better still, in Ryoutarou's eyes, were the people ambling in. His Imagin were there, of course; Momotaros was still chastising Ryuutaros for the early wakeup while Urataros watched on, Sieg was preening in a corner, and Kintaros had already fallen back to sleep in a nearby booth. Naomi was dragging Owner in, the latter still dressed in his pajamas and nightcap. Kohana was sitting with her parents, as it were, explaining something about the train's mechanics to Airi while Yuuto begrudgingly helped Deneb hand out candy canes.

The end of the year would still be coming soon, and with it a new start. Maybe he'd find new adventures to go on, or maybe the old ones would continue on, bringing new challenges along the way. Maybe he'd actually get a good fortune this time, and be rid of his bad luck once and for all.

But even if not, he couldn't complain with his half-blessed life. Not when it had brought him so close to these people, and let him help so many as they navigated through time together.


End file.
